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Tuesday, January 28, 2014

This beauty just released today! And in honor of the book's release, I have a guest post to share and help spread the word.

As a country girl and Michigan native, I know my fair share of Amish folks. I see them all the time on the road, and my grandparents used to be really good friends with them. I even went and saw how they made maple syrup with my grandpa when I was young. It was a special moment for the two of us. I've always been fascinated by their culture and their views. I've grown up with them and am no stranger to their ways. But I thought this guest post was really fascinating, and I wanted to share it with you guys.

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Courting Amish Style

What Rose and Noah face when they begin
courting.

Yes, there still is a place in
the world where the process of a boy and a girl getting to know each other is
called ‘courting.’ In Amish communities
throughout the Midwest and stretching into other regions of the United States,
dating is called courting and breaking up is referred to as ‘quitting’ each
other.

Because of my years of contact
with Amish teens coming to my farm to participate in horse-back riding
activities, babysitting my children or hanging out with my own teenagers, I’ve
come to understand their secretive world of courtship very well.

First, Amish teens do get to pick their
partner, contrary to popular belief. But
they must choose another Amish member or they’ll get into heaps of trouble as
seen in TEMPTATION where Noah, an Amish teen, falls for Rose, an outsider. The boys and girls of a community spend
their entire lives together; meeting as toddlers, going through school together
until the eighth grade and participating in church and weekly youth activities,
such as singings and volleyball or softball games.

By age sixteen, many of the Amish
have already decided on their future spouse.
Courting is serious business for the Amish. ‘Dating around’ is not acceptable behavior
within the Amish society. A person
chooses carefully who they will commit to courting, because they know that they
will be expected to stay in the relationship due to problems that can arise
within the community when couples ‘quit’ each other. Also, divorce is almost unheard in the Amish
world, so teens tread lightly with the opposite sex until they decide on the
right person.

The Amish youth are encouraged to begin
romantic relationships, because it helps insure that they will remain
Amish. Since the teens aren’t allowed to
court until they’ve officially gone through the ceremony to join their church,
many young ones who might have reservations about living their lives the Amish
way, will commit to it in order to be with the person they’re fond of. With courting, comes the prospect of marriage
and a jump into adulthood, which satisfies the hope of more freedom.

Each community has its own set of
courting rules. The community I live in
for instance, has a-hands-off courting policy. This basically means that a couple will get in HUGE trouble if they get
caught holding hands, kissing or going any further physically within the
relationship. Punishment includes
reciting their sins before their entire community on Sunday and possibly being
‘shunned’ for a length of time, usually lasting one to six weeks, depending on
the conduct. Shunning is especially
painful to the couple, because it means they won’t be able to see each other
until the time is up. Other communities
are a bit more relaxed on the matter, but Amish teens are always held to a high
standard when courting. This doesn’t
mean that couples aren’t getting a kiss in here and there or even going much
further into a physical relationship, but they are watched carefully and learn
early on to either abstain or be extremely stealthy in their liaisons.

Although, the courtship rituals
of the Amish society might sound harsh to those of us on the outside, there are
many positives to their strict structure. Most couples will begin courting at the age of sixteen and marry by the
time they’re nineteen or twenty. Because
the teens have a deep sense of responsibility and meaning about entering a
relationship, they don’t play games, and there is much less drama and
heartbreak involved. They enjoy support
from their families and community and begin their lives together on solid
ground.

I’ve witnessed many teens go through the
process of courting and each couple eventually married. In the end, they were
in love and happy…and isn’t that what we all strive to achieve?

You can read firsthand about Rose
and Noah’s courting experience in TEMPTATION, where they meet secretly and
struggle to find a way to be together.
Their story continues in BELONGING, when they finally have the
opportunity to court in the Amish way, but are torn apart again when Rose’s
family puts a stop to it. You will find out once and for all if Rose and Noah
find their happily-ever-after in FOREVER.

Learn about a fascinating culture
while taking an emotional roller coaster ride in the TEMPTATION series! I love
to hear from readers! You can contact me
on my FB page (Karen Ann Hopkins) or the Temptation FB page.

Happy reading!

Karen Ann Hopkins

About the Author:

A native of New York State, Karen Ann Hopkins now lives with her family on a farm in northern Kentucky, where her neighbors in all directions are members of a strict Amish community. Her unique perspective became the inspiration for the story of star-crossed lovers Rose and Noah. When she’s not homeschooling her kids, giving riding lessons or tending to a menagerie of horses, goats, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, dogs and cats, she is dreaming up her next romantic novel.

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I'm Holly, the blogger behind The Fox's Hideaway. I love to read, write, play video games, and Netflix. I spend way too much time binge-watching TV shows I never finish, procrastinating life, and disappearing into the pages of a book for hours on end. I started this blog as a way to give myself a creative outlet for writing and talk books with people who "get" it. And it's since become one of the biggest passions I have, and it humbles me that you're here and reading this short little paragraph right now. I hope you'll stick around as I rant and rave and stumble through adulthood. :D

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